MR. FLEISCHER: Good morning. I'm here to report, and we're joined
by Jim Towey, who heads the Faith-based Initiative for the President,
and wants to share some information with you, as well.

The President this morning called President Lagos of Chile. The
President called him to mark the successful conclusion yesterday of the
U.S.-Chile free trade agreement negotiations. The two Presidents
discussed the significance of this achievement, which not only deepens
the U.S.-Chile bilateral relationship, but it is a positive signal to
the hemisphere about the importance of free trade, and it's an
important way of continuing to create jobs in America.

Then the President had his intelligence briefing, FBI briefing, and
now we are on our way to Philadelphia. I'll return to Philadelphia in
just a second. Upon returning to the White House, the President will
drop by the American Legislative Exchange Council and briefing here at
the White House.

Children of inmates are one of the most endangered groups in
America today. There are 1.5 million children across the country who
have parents incarcerated in state and federal prisons. These children
are six times more likely than their peers to suffer from problems such
as juvenile delinquency, alcohol and substance abuse, and poor academic
performance. Without effective intervention, 70 percent of these
children will likely follow their parent's path into prison or jail.

The program the President is visiting is called the Amachi
Mentoring Program, and it's one of the nation's leading programs for
mentoring children of prisoners. The President is looking forward to
his visit there. And then the President will make remarks, at which
time he will sign an executive order that makes it easier for
faith-based groups to work with the federal government to compete for
and receive federal funds while retaining their religious character.

The executive order -- and Jim is available here to answer any
questions about it -- will ensure that agency regulations and
procedures are consistent with equal treatment principles. It will
direct agencies to change their regulations so that no organization
will be discriminated against based on religion, and that no
beneficiary of a federally funded social service may be discriminated
against based on any grounds.

I want to give you two examples of why the President thinks this is
necessary. After the Seattle earthquake, there was a group in Seattle
that applied for federal funds under FEMA as a result of the damage
done in the course of the earthquake. This group, the Seattle Hebrew
Academy, was a private religious school which was denied relief after
the earthquake on the grounds that it was a religious institution and,
therefore, did not qualify for disaster relief. The President's
executive order will change that. The President sees no reason why a
group that is damaged by an earthquake should be discriminated against
because its mission is religious.

Similarly, another organization I want to cite for you is in
Oklahoma, in Tulsa, there's a small faith-based organization that
provides great after-school programs for juvenile delinquents. It
applied for a $10,000 grant in April of 2001 under a Department of
Justice program that was --

Q How much?

MR. FLEISCHER: $10,000. It's called the Sharyn Cosby Ministries.
It applied for a $10,000 grant in April of 2001 through the Department
of Justice for a program that was administered by the Oklahoma Juvenile
Justice Division. It's a highly regarded program. And they were
notified in June 2001 that they received the award. But then, after
the group's bylaws were reviewed, the organization was declared too
religious in nature, even though the service the organization was
providing was completely secular. The grant decision was then
reversed.

The actions the President is taking today will help ensure that
groups like this, that very often are the best groups in society to
help those who have been left behind, will no longer be denied funds
simply because they have a religious nature. The President looks at
people in America who have been left behind, they deserve every shot at
making it in America, and believes that these barriers serve as an
impediment to helping people make it in America.

There are many government programs that do their best to help the
poor and the needy. Despite the good intention of those programs,
there still remain addicts, children of prisoners and many others who
are left behind. And the President wants to extend society's help to
all those groups who -- people who fall through the cracks. And he
believes the executive orders he will sign today will help bring help
to people who have been left behind and have fallen through cracks.

The last item I want to bring to your attention, and then both Jim
and I are happy to take your questions, is a very exciting
announcement, I'm very pleased to make it. As part of an annual
tradition that started with Jackie Kennedy, this morning Mrs. Bush is
visiting the Children's National Medical Center for the annual holiday
party. She'll be escorted to the party by a young gentleman named Iran
Brown and Elise Smith. Iran is the 13-year-old sniper victim who until
today has not been seen publicly.

Q From Bowie Middle School?

MR. FLEISCHER: His family requested that he escort Mrs. Bush for
today's visit. He was treated in the burn, surgery and trauma unit in
the hospital and is now an outpatient.

The other part of the announcement, which I was referring to
earlier, that I want to share with you, is as part of the program about
holiday giving and holiday joy and a season of -- this happy season,
Mrs. Bush will debut the Barney Cam before about 50 child patients and
their families. The video will be played, and then the real Barney
will join Mrs. Bush on stage as she takes questions from the audience.
It's an open press event. The Barney Cam is, of course, going to go on
the White House webpage. It's just little old Barney wearing a camera
that's smaller than the ones that the usual White House cameramen have
to carry, as Barney films life at the White House at the holiday
season.

Q Has Barney joined the Screen Actors Guild, or does he have a
union card?

MR. FLEISCHER: Barney is a union buster from way back.

Q What time is the event, Ari.

MR. FLEISCHER: Mrs. Bush's event?

Q Yes.

MR. FLEISCHER: Mrs. Bush's exciting event -- my paperwork on it
doesn't indicate time, but I remember from the briefing that I had that
it was, I think, around 10:15 a.m. or so.

MR. FLEISCHER: But there are other executive orders that are part
of today that he did sign at the White House. He'll sign one today in
Philadelphia.

Q Can you tell me the distinction between some of those?

MR. TOWEY: The executive orders dealing with the faith-based
initiative -- there are two of them. The one that he will sign on
stage is the Equal Protection Executive Order that seeks to end
discrimination against faith-based groups. The other one that
establishes faith-based centers at the Department of Agriculture and
AID is not going to be signed on stage, but is signed today.

Q Has that already been done?

MR. TOWEY: I don't know.

Q And is it correct that this first order will allow funds to
go to groups that discriminate in their hiring?

MR. TOWEY: He's going to sign an executive order that says
faith-based organizations have -- we need those organizations, of
course, to provide more services to our poor. They have a right to
maintain their identity. Congress has five different approaches on
hiring rights. It's very confusing. Action Ministries in Atlanta is a
good example. They get funds from two different federal grants; one
has hiring restrictions, one doesn't. Very confusing. The President
hopes Congress clears up that muddle of laws that has been exceedingly
difficult for small groups to maneuver with.

The President's executive order today, while not addressing
directly hiring rights on federal grants, is going to make clear that
these groups are not to be barred from participating in federal grants
just because they have a religious name or religious board of
directors, or governing articles, mission statements that are
faith-based. He wants to see these groups able to compete, make sure
they don't discriminate in terms of who they serve -- whatever your
religious belief or sexual orientation, there's no discrimination on
who walks through the door of a soup kitchen that's federally funded.
But he also, I think, wants to make clear the Congress will continue to
be addressing the issues; I'm sure they will.

Q I thought the executive order included the ability of
contractors to continue their religious -- hiring based on religion,
a distinction from those getting grants. Is that correct?

MR. TOWEY: That's right. What I said was in the context of
federal grants. Federal contracts will be included in the executive
order. The President will make clear that religious organizations that
contract on amounts of $10,000 or more are able to hire on a religious
basis, consistent with Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act, that's been in
place for 38 years and has worked very well. The President simply
feels that this executive order will clarify that these groups keep
that civil right they have when they do federal contracting. There was
no effort by Congress to pull it back, and as the Chief Executive, it
is within his prerogative to do this. And I think it's updating
America's approach to social services.

Back when the initial executive order was issued in the '60s, there
wasn't federal contracting with faith-based groups. Some might have
received grants. They weren't treated as contractors. So the
President simply is addressing the reality that nowadays there are some
contracts that go out to faith-based groups and they should not have to
alter their identity to provide a federal service.

He does stress that they have to follow federal law and federal
regulation. And that means that you don't proselytize with federal
funds. And that your religious activities are separate and funded
separate from your federally funded services or contracted or grant
wise.

Q There's likely to be criticism today with groups saying that
religious organizations shouldn't be getting government money if they
can discriminate in hiring. What is the White House's response to that
kind of criticism?

MR. TOWEY: Very simple. Since 1996, when President Clinton signed
the first charitable choice legislation, federal groups have --
federal programs have been made available, such as welfare to work, so
we're talking tens of billions of dollars -- to faith-based
organizations with the express permission that they could hire with
federal funds according to their religious beliefs. There aren't any
horror stories and, since 1996, the programs are working well. And at
no point has Congress ever repealed the Title VII exemption that has
stood for 38 years to protect religious organizations' rights to hire.

So I don't think what President Bush is doing today is anything
novel. And certainly, the President respects the importance of the
Constitution prohibition of funding religion. The wall he wants to
tear down is the wall that separates the poor from effective programs.
He wants to see our drug addicts receive the best possible services.
And what you'll hear today, I think, is the President cite examples of
where the poor have been denied access to effective programs simply
because that organization might have had a religious character. So he
opposes the funding of religion; always has. This initiative is about
better care for the poor.

MR. FLEISCHER: I think that the burden is on the critics to
explain why the Hebrew Academy, for example, should not receive funding
after an earthquake. The burden on the critics is to explain why a
program in Oklahoma that helps juvenile delinquents should be denied
help because they are effective and they can bring help to those who
have been left behind.

MR. FLEISCHER: I want to reiterate, the President thought what
Trent Lott said was wrong. And Trent Lott has apologized. The
President feels very strongly about this. The President knows that
we're a nation that has been improved as a result of the civil rights
movement, the civil rights changes that were made to our country.
We're a better nation. We were a worse nation when we were a
segregated nation.

Q But does he feel strongly enough that Senator Lott shouldn't
be Majority Leader?

MR. FLEISCHER: No, the President does not think that Trent Lott
should resign.

MR. FLEISCHER: The statement that North Korea made, that it plans
to resume the operation and construction of its nuclear facilities, is
regrettable. The announcement flies in the face of international
consensus that the North Korean regime must fulfill all its
commitments, and in particular, dismantle its nuclear weapons program.

We seek a peaceful resolution to the situation that North Korea has
created. As the President said, we have no intentions of invading
North Korea. The international community has made it clear that North
Korea's relations with the outside world hinge on the elimination of
its nuclear weapons program. The next step is for North Korea to
dismantle its nuclear weapons program in a visible and verifiable
manner. We will consult with friends and allies regarding an
appropriate response to this latest move by the North Korean regime.

Finally, the United States has always been open to dialogue in
principle, and was prepared for a comprehensive approach to improving
U.S. -North Korean relations before the disclosure of North Korea's
clandestine uranium enrichment program. However, the United States
will not enter into dialogue in response to threats or broken
commitments, and we will not bargain or offer inducements for North
Korea to live up to the treaties and agreements it has signed.

Q So are you open to talks now, or does North Korea need to
take some action before you have talks?